Updates

Technical standards

2019

The ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) Technical Committee on Cybersecurity (TC CYBER) released a cybersecurity standard for Internet of things (IoT) products. The aim of the standard is to establish a security baseline for IoT consumer devices and to provide a basis for future IoT systems. Implementing this standard will require manufacturers to cease using universal default passwords and to implement a vulnerability disclosure policy that will enable to report about security issues. The initial draft of the standard was based on the ‘Code of Practice for Security in Consumer IoT Products and Associated Services’ which was published by the UK Government department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in March 2018.

According to a news release published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the approval of a new ITU standard (ITU L.163) will pave the way for high-speed broadband services to be brought to rural communities through the use of lightweight, terabit-capable optical cables that can be deployed on the ground’s surface with minimal expense and environmental impact. According to the publication, even though radiocommunication can provide the ‘last mile’ connectivity, challenges arise when deploying in rural areas that are often many kilometres away from core networks. Optical infrastructure supported by the new standard, will therefore be indispensable in solving the challenge of providing true broadband to the otherwise inaccessible communities.

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a report titled ‘NISTIR 8200: An Interagency Report on the Status of International Cybersecurity Standardization for the Internet of Things (IoT)’. The report analyses the present state of IoT cybersecurity standardisation in five areas: connected vehicle IoT, consumer IoT, health IoT, smart building IoT, and smart manufacturing IoT. According to the analysis of the areas, cybersecurity for IoT requires the modification of existing standards and the creation of new ones to address IoT challenges. The report concludes by highlighting existing gaps in current standards and how existing standards can be used effectively. The report recommends governmental agencies to work with the industry to initiate new standards projects in standards developing organisations to close the gaps.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published an Internet of Things (loT) Reference Architecture (IoT RA) standard. The standard regarding IoT and related technologies was published on 1 November 2018. The standard aims to provide the framework for designers and developers in the IoT field. The standard is developed under the technical committee information technology, and IoT development. Find out more about the standard here.

The international organisation for standardization (ISO) assembled a working group on drafting the cybersecurity standards around consumer’s electronics to ensure the consumer privacy is embedded into the design. This standard is also referred as ‘privacy by design’ standard. The ISO project committee, ISO/PC 317 will also look at the impact of artificial intelligence, data protection and sharing economy on the future of consumer experience. Working group will work having on mind the set of standards related to the cybersecurity and consumers electronics (IT Security techniques). The concept of privacy by design is already featured in a recent EU General Data Protection Regulation.

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